


Thursday

by airiP4



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bittersweet, Clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Evil Chat Noir, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Protective Luka Couffaine, Romance, Silence, Slow Burn, Songfic, chapter 2 is alternative ending, metro, metro ride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28979679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airiP4/pseuds/airiP4
Summary: One day, Marinette fell in love at first sight with an unknown blue-haired boy he met on the metro. Since that day, she changed her daily routine so she could see him every day, during the short ride between stations. The boy always there, across the carriage, in his usual seat in front of her.Months of silences between them passed and spring arrived. Disappointed for her own cowardice, Marinette decided it was time to talk to him.That Thursday, March 11th, everything was going to change forever for them.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by the song: "Jueves" from La Oreja de Van Gogh.

**Thursday**

Since the school course started, Marinette forced her daily schedule to change. She started waking up earlier, despite her usual bad sleeping habits, never failing to ride the same metro every morning.

Being earlier than rush hour gave her the freedom to take a seat and look at her surroundings. Not that there was much to see outside, being inside dark tunnels, but her eyes enjoyed much better the vision she usually had in front of her, across the carriage: the boy with blue hair and summer sky colored eyes that had stolen her heart at first sight.

Everything was for a boy. An unknown boy. And if it had never been easy for Marinette to control her feelings when it came to her crushes: how was she supposed to talk to a stranger she knew almost nothing about? Only one thing was certain: _how she felt was perfectly real_.

Eventually, from staring at him daily and secretly observing and studying the little pieces of information she could get, she learned little by little a bit more about him. His name: Luka. His major: music. His destination: one station before hers. His prefered seat: the one in front of hers, across the carriage but that faced backwards instead of sideways. He seemed to be protective of the seat facing his in front of him, as he didn't let anyone take as long as there were other available ones. 

In his seat, he would usually yawn at the glass window, sleepy, with his earphones on and humming a song Marinette couldn't recognize. His guitar case laid between his partly-opened legs, protecting it, and he usually closed his eyes, probably to focus on the music, Marinette assumed. Marinette loved the sight of his profile when he faced straight: his strong manly features, his sharp eyes, his thick brows, his pierced ears and his colorful untied shoes.. The tattoo on his arm never failed to catch her attention either. He was glowing in Marinette’s eyes.

She usually found herself staring, and reminded herself she had to hide her obvious looks, not to be found out (not so) secretly admiring his beauty. But she kept failing to talk to him. 

' _Maybe If I was prettier or clever, or if I was special or magazine worthy, I could draw the courage to talk to him_ ' she usually thought in a deep sigh.

There were times when they exchanged looks, and it felt like time stopped for an instant as her heart skipped a beat. Whenever that happened, embarrassment always made her look away, sinking between her shoulders, and the second after his gaze was already looking somewhere else. Marinette felt her heart rate unavoidably intensifying every time he blinked or directed her a short gaze, forced to look away to hide the embarrassment projected in the redness on her cheeks. ‘ _He must think I'm weird or silly…_ ' she usually thought.

There were times when the boy scribbled on his notebook. Marinette liked to look at his focused face and to peek at his handwriting, but she also enjoyed looking at his long fingers and black painted nails holding the cheap blue inkjet pen that he spun on his fingers when it stopped writing. She loved how his hands got tainted in blue from running them over the paper and it made Marinette emphatically smile. ' _Cute_ '

When she was feeling down or inspired, it was her turn to scribble on her sketchbook. The sight of the boy whom she dreamt about daily activated her creativity for new designs. Sometimes, she even lost track of time while drawing and cursed later in regret for another missed chance to talk to him.

The conclusion she reached everyday was the same: the ride was too short. ' _Eleven minutes of heaven_ ', her best friend Alya teased her. 

_What would he think if he knew she always wore her makeup and her most beautiful clothes just for him?_ , she wondered. _Did he notice her little makeup and hair styling changes? Or her now black painted nails? Or how she wore a necklace with her name on it in wish he would call it for her someday?_

All her courage and efforts to catch his attention wasted by her shyness. No progress ever made. No words ever exchanged- only silences between them.

Just like this, the days repeated, every day on the same metro train. Station to station, like seasonal migrating birds, the seasons passed by… And now it was almost Spring- the blooming season: perfect for love.

And now it's Thursday, March 11th, and Marinette has set her determination: ' _Today I'm talking to him. Today I'm making him notice me!_ '

That Thursday she woke up even earlier than usual. She put on her prettiest skirt and some natural makeup and walked to the metro station near her house. She could have ridden at least two of the previous metro trains, but those weren’t the ones she wanted to ride. She would wait until the boy of his dreams appeared. And after a few minutes, he was there: earlier than usual, just like her, as if destiny was telling her: ‘ _today is the day_ ’. There was something special in the air, she could sense.

Looking at the boy from afar, Marinette could see how he sat down and stared at his phone, probably checking the time. A metro arrived shortly after, calling for his attention. 

Marinette’s body was stiff. ‘ _Good thing I came earlier, I wouldn’t have met him otherwise_ ’ she thought, ready to get in the first car. But, surprisingly, he didn’t move an inch, and just as it came, the metro train left. ‘ _Why didn’t he get on it?_ ’ she wondered, seeing how he had clearly missed it on purpose.

As she stared, she noticed how he was discreetly looking at his surroundings, as if he was looking for somebody, waiting. The thought of him possibly having a partner saddened her, but she hadn’t woken up early just to give up yet. 

In what seemed an instant, the next metro to arrive was the one both of them always rode. This time, he stepped on it leaving a resigned sigh. He moved to the usual platform and got in the car they always shared. Marinette got in from another platform and rode another car. She could see through the glass door between cars how he had sat at his usual seat, while the one in front of him and her usual one across the aisle remained empty, along with some other seats closer to the door. Another sigh left his mouth and his aura seemed to have changed to a colder color. When he connected his earphones to his phone, Marinette knew it was her time to move. After a little shake from the moving vehicle, she armed herself with determination, and moved to Luka’s car to sit in front of him, looking at the floor. She knew where to sit when she noticed his unique untied sneakers and the designs she had already studied so much. “Excuse me” she mumbled while sitting down.

The closeness of the seats made Luka instantly notice her. And if she hadn’t been looking down in embarrassment, she would have seen the relieved smile on his face, as he went back to humming at the glass, happier. 

The girl’s eyes continued gazing at the floor, flustered for her unusual boldness and noticing his eyes on her, making her feel smaller, her tiny body trembling like a newborn puppy. 

Wanting him to notice her, she bravely made a first attempt and moved the tip of her flat shoe to slightly touch the tip of his high shoe and waited for his reaction- a reaction that never came. His foot stayed immobile, as if he hadn’t noticed her touch. 

Disappointed, Marinette tried a bolder move. She then moved her other foot to touch his, this time touching it from the side and waited again for his reaction. Nothing. Then, she used her other foot to catch his in between them and waited. With no answer coming from him, she wondered what was making him so distracted and finally looked up at his face. 

He was staring at her, eyes opened in surprise. Luka was clearly noticing her touches, she realized, yet he didn't react. Was it on purpose or because he didn't know how to act, that was yet another mystery. 

Marinette jolted in surprise and broke eye contact immediately, retiring her feet and placing them under the seat, temperature increasing as her cheeks turned deep pink.

‘ _What are you doing Marinette? Talk to him. He noticed you! It’s your chance. Call his name_ ’

The metro vibrated as it reached the first of the three stations before his final destination and Marinette had to use her feet to keep her balance in place, stretching them a little in front of her. Luka had done the same and one of their feet crashed, resulting in Marinette partly stepping on him. 

“I’m sorry!” she panicked, moving her foot away and covering her face with her hands.

“It’s ok”, he answered, offering her an emphatic smile. 

It was the first time she heard his voice properly and it sounded just like she thought it would. Deep and kind, quiet and magical. She could melt at his sound. 

‘ _Now’s your chance, Marinette_ ’ she told herself. And somehow, she managed to gather the courage to take the opportunity the sudden stop had granted her to try to speak again. But her bravery vanished the instant the doors opened and an unexpected loud crowd got into the car- tourists.

Marinette sighed in defeat and looked at her feet again.

Moving his gaze to look at his unusual surroundings, Luka noticed an old couple standing next to the door. Being the gentleman he was, he called for their attention and offered them his seat, which they thanked him in some foreign language. 

Noticing his actions, Marinette also stood up to offer her seat to the old couple, and she was thanked too. 

The train was packed and the loud youngest tourists weren’t especially careful about their surroundings, pushing people to gain some personal space or move through the car. Being small as she was, Marinette was close to being crushed between the back of the seats, the door, and a group of young large immature men. 

Marinette closed her eyes, scared, as one man was jokingly pushed towards her. But, to her surprise, he didn’t bump on her- Luka stepped in the way to protect her, and she was now secured between his body and the space between the door and the seats. 

“Stop being rude, where are your manners?” Luka coldly glared at them. 

“Sorry, dude”, the young man said, and he got angry at his playful friends, who kept stupidly laughing.

The fear in Marinette’s eyes became surprise and shyness at noticing her position and how close the man of her dreams was to her. She could smell his ocean scented cologne and her eyes couldn’t stop staring at his beautiful face features from close up, as he angrily glared at the rude youngsters. 

“Are you ok?” he asked again, taking one step back, to leave her some space to breathe. 

“Yes!” she jumped at the question. “Thank you...” 

“You’re welcome” he smiled. 

The redness on her face became more vivid and she looked back at her feet again to hide it. When the men finally took their leave, Luka tried to take another step back to give her more personal space. But something stopped him: Marinette finally drew the courage to shyly grab his jacket.

“Lu-” another jolt marked the arrival to the second station. The agitation of the train made both of them lose their balance, holding onto each other to keep their steadiness. Marinette’s face was buried in his chest as he used one of his arms to keep her safe and the other hand grabbed one of the pole stands. 

“Are you ok?” he asked again, releasing her from his hold.

Surprised, she grabbed his jacket once again “Yes” she finally said, whispering his name, stuttering. "Lu- Lu- Luka…"

Her eyes were strongly shut, and she was trembling, but she was refusing to let go of his denim jacket no matter how embarrassed she was. After a two seconds of silence, he called her with a relieved sigh. 

“Marinette” 

Her startle was felt by him through his jacket as she raised her face up to stare at his eyes. Both of them had glowing pupils, filled with a hope that didn’t come unnoticed by Luka- an emotion that determined and secured his next steps. He moved his hand to hold hers and she let go of his clothing to squeeze his fingers instead. “Marinette” he repeated. And her heart skipped a beat, rhythm intensifying, melting in his blue eyes now fixated on her. 

The doors closed again and the metro resumed its march. One station left. 

“You noticed me…” Luka whispered, caressing her hands with his thumb. His face showed a relieved smile that made Marinette understand at last. She squeezed his hand stronger, confirming his words. 

“You noticed me…?” she returned his words back to him, with a shy smile and expectation on her face.

“Always. I don't know you, but I already missed you” he replied, smiling softly. “Everyday, ever since I first saw you, I've been riding this train, wishing to see you every morning, despite my bike being cheaper and faster”

Marinette’s eyes glowed in awe and joy. “I’ve been waking up earlier every morning so I could ride this train and see you, even if this means I have to wait for 20 minutes in front of the school gates…” she confessed. 

Luka's smile widened and left out a sigh. “What have we been doing all this time?” he asked rhetorically, moving a lock of Marinette's hair to take a better look at her face. The girl awkwardly giggled, embarrassed for not having been able to tell him her feelings and encountering this happiness earlier.

“I like you” he finally said, taking one of her hands close to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles while staring at her eyes. 

Marinette smiled and brought out all her determination to stand on her tip-toes and give him a soft kiss on his cheek. “I like you too”.

Another turbulence marked the final destination arrival as they hugged again to keep their feet on the floor. The train finally stopped, and its doors opened. 

Not wanting to separate, they exchanged sad looks and he moved his head down to give her one final last kiss on her lips. An action she quickly mimicked when he started to pull apart, causing him to smile widely. 

“See you tomorrow” he whispered, reluctantly crossing the door. Marinette nodded shyly and stayed by the door, cheeks red and waving at him with a soft smile on her face, one he also had for her in return.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow...” she whispered, trying to process everything that happened. ‘ _He likes me back! I’m so happy I could die_ ’ she thought, internally squealing.

_And that's exactly what happened_. 

The deadliest terrorist attack in the city. A cataclysm that wiped all traces of life of the metro passengers on the next station- Marinette's destination. 

Irremediably, Marinette was one of the hundreds of fatal victims. But her soul was happy, because before she died, she had given Luka everything she had: her first and last kiss, her last blush, her last sigh, and the last thought on her mind. Instant death with the sweetest sensations.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't give Lukanette an unhappy ending so I fixed it.

**Chapter 2: alternative ending**

Luka blinked at a blurry memory. Or instinct. Something indescriptible alerted him the instant his feet touched the ground out the metro. For a second, he could see a flashback of death crossing his mind. Shivers took over his body and his inner voice urged him to take action: ‘ _save her_ ’.

Not wasting any moment and before Luka could actually think, the alarm of the doors that announced their closure soon started and Luka's hand straightened to grab Marinette's wrist and pull her body out of the train, just before the doors fully closed. 

"Let's skip the first hour" he mischievously grinned, pulling her through the platform, passing next the old couple they had previously offered their seats to.

Out of surprise, Marinette couldn't answer, but she was more than happy to follow him upstairs and out to the street- or whenever he was willing to take her- with a shy happy smile on her face.

"I know I should have asked you if you wanted to come first, sorry for that", Luka turned his head back to her, not letting go of her hand.

"My classes don't start until 25 minutes from now. I can make it on foot, if I wanted to go"

"Do you want to? I can walk you there, if you want" he offered, apologetically.

"I prefer to skip the first hour with you" Marinette blushed with a wide clumsy smile, squeezing his hand.

A loud noise and an earthquake distracted them as they moved to a park nearby.

"An earthquake? That's unusual" Luka said, catching Marinette for the third time of the day. "Marinette?"

'I'm ok! I just tripped". Luka's hands surrounding her were making her knees weak. "Thank you".

“Clumsy as ever. You’re so cute” he casually commented, making Marinette's face flush red. "I haven't properly introduced myself, right? My name is Luka Couffaine. I'm 19 and I'm studying at that music conservatoire across the park. What's your full name, Marinette? How old are you?" 

"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm 17 years old. I'm in my last year of lycée..." She shyly said. 

"Dupain-Cheng...?" Luka blinked twice, remembering. "Oh, like the bakery, of course! The best in Paris. That's why you smell so sweet. My sister is a faithful customer of yours" he fondly smiled. 

"She is? I help at the counter sometimes, maybe I know her?" Her curiosity showed.

"Her name is Juleka. Your same age. Purple long hair, red eyes, goth clothes. Sometimes accompanied by a little short-haired blond girl with a high-pitched voice..."

"No way! She's your sister?" She exclaimed in surprise. "Of course I know her! She's so beautiful I'm always distracted staring at her that she has to repeat her order at least twice for me to finally catch it. She's kind enough not to mind it… Wow! I wish I had known she was your sister" she regretted a little.

"Yes, she's beautiful. But I think you're beautiful too. And definitely cuter. May I ask you what your aspirations are, Marinette? With studies, with me…" Luka squeezed her hand, hopefully, waiting for her answer.

"I want to be a fashion designer... and I really like you… as for- really, really like you...”. she couldn't hide the blush on her face as she squeezed his hand back, reassuring Luka.

"Good. Because I really, really like you too, and I want to get to know you better, outside the metro, in our spare time. Would you like that? To date me… officially, I mean. As my girlfriend"

"Yes! I would love that... That's exactly what I want" Marinette smiled.

"Great" he stole one quick kiss from her, which she happily accepted. “What do you want to do? Is there anywhere you want to go?”

"Could I-… I would like to hear you play your guitar" she shyly asked.

Luka smiled widely. "Ok. I'll let you hear the first part of the song you inspired me to compose"

"You composed a song about me? Really?" Her eyes were opened in surprise and Luka giggled at her reaction.

"You made a big impact on me, Marinette. The way you literally fell on me after tripping at the stairs… how your feet tap impatiently at the floor, the way you stick your tongue out when you draw… You're adorable"

"How do you know that? You're never looking at me… you always look away at the glass…"

"I'm always looking at you. See?” he signaled at his black smartphone screen. “The window glass in the dark shows a reflection. I like to look at you from that reflection. I didn't want you to think I don't have shame for staring too much. I'm misunderstood enough with my appearance to make it even worse…" he explained.

"You were looking at me!? I didn't notice... I feel so stupid now…" she mumbled, covering her face with her hands. 

"You're sweet, Marinette. And I really like that part of you." Luka smiled at her reaction. “Let me play you your song” He smiled, taking his guitar out of the case and strumming the strings of his guitar to create a sweet melody Marientte carefully listened to. 

Suddenly, Marinette's phone vibrated, interrupting Luka’s song. "My parents! 5 missed calls!? Oh, no! They might know I’ve skipped school!"

"It's ok, Marinette. I'll take all the responsibility for that. You better answer the phone. I have a bad feeling..." Luka sounded alerted, and it showed when he didn't take his hand off her shoulder, as if he had to keep her close to protect her.

"Marinette!?" The voice at the other side of the line called in panic.

"Mom? I'm sorry I know I should be in class and-"

"Oh, Marinette! I'm so relieved! Are you ok? Are you injured anywhere?"

"Hm? No? What's going on?" Marinette blinked, confused.

At that moment, a big explosion followed, and a great amount of black smoke lifted to the sky. 

Luka left his guitar to the side to hold Marinette as they stared in terror, unable to move, in silence. "No way…" he gasped, showing Marinette the column of smoke that rose from a few streets away. A _Cataclysm-_ _Chat Noir_ \- Luka figured out moments later by checking the news on his phone. Marinette gasped and dropped her phone on the floor, speechless. Both of them got shivers at one though: Marinette would most likely be dead by now if Luka hadn't taken her with him. 

Luka understood then the voice in his head: ' _save her_ '. And he had done it. If destructive magic as ‘Cataclysm’ existed, other magic could exist too. _He was very lucky_ , he realized. Luka held Marinette closer as she stared at the big fire some streets away for some minutes. Alarms and ambulances increased, and Luka felt the urge to go help, but he didn’t want to leave Marinette alone.

"It's ok, Marinette. I've got you. I won't let you get hurt” he reassured her. “I'll take you home. Classes are cancelled and you’ll be safer there" he offered her his hand, but she strongly grabbed his arm instead, scared and shocked ' _I would be dead if it wasn't for Luka_ ' 

Marinette was terrified, but at the same time, she felt the same as Luka: she wanted to help. "Luka, let's go. Maybe we can help somehow" she suggested.

"It could be dangerous, Marinette. I don’t want to put you under risk" 

"I know. But I can't stay here watching when I could be helpful instead". She gulped in determination and fear.

Luka was astonished. "Ok, but we're not going to expose ourselves to much danger. I would hate it if you get hurt. Promise?" Marinette nodded shyly. "Let's go!"

* * *

The new couple did what they could: Luka escorted people to the ambulances and helped to extinguish small fires, while Marinette helped the medical team and offered first aid to some of the victims. Luka made sure to never lose sight of her. She was tiny but strong, and Luka felt admiration and fascination. The teenage girl couldn't help but feel the same towards Luka's bravery as he helped people around non-stop. After a few minutes, more ambulances arrived and they left the rest to the professionals. Instead of going home right away, they first accompanied the old couple they met before at the metro to the hospital. They had passed out from smoke inhalation, but thankfully they could recover thanks to the teenagers help. "Thank you…" the Chinese old man thanked them when he recovered, and they sighed in relief.

When they stepped out of the hospital and observed the smoke column from before, they paralyzed in fear: the smoke had turned into letters, whose message could be clearly read: ‘ _This is just the beginning_ ’. The couple got shivers at the threatening warning and Marinette couldn’t stop some tears from spilling from her eyes. On the other hand, Luka, worried and scared, swore to himself he would protect his girlfriend Marinette no matter what.

It was midday when they walked to the bakery, in silence. Marinette was trembling, in shock from the recent events and Luka made sure to keep holding her hand tightly. Her parents were waiting for her outside their bakery and desperately ran to hug their daughter as soon as they saw her.

“Marinette! I’m so glad you’re ok!” the mother cried. “I was so worried…”

“It’s thanks to Luka, mom. He saved my life” the teenager mumbled in gratitude, signaling them her boyfriend.

"Thank you for saving my daughter!" The Chinese woman exclaimed, hugging him in a grateful manner. 

Luka could only nod and say to Marinette “I’ll come to see you tomorrow” before leaving. The thought of how she could have been dead by now if he hadn’t intervened never abandoning his head. 

Later, when Luka returned home, he found an unknown hexagonal box on his bed. The same box also lay on the table in Marinette's room. Both of them examined their respective boxes, and from the moment they opened them onward, and the mysterious creatures explained themselves, they realized that the ‘ _life_ ’ and ‘ _love_ ’ saved that day came with a price needed to be paid back as superheroes under certain mandatory rules: superheroes until the defeat of Chat Noir and the rest of Paris’ villains. 

And if Luka and Marinette were already starting something new, the events of that day tied them together forever.

**FIN**

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> The song "Jueves" is a tribute to the victims of Madrid's terrorist attacks from March 11th, 2004.


End file.
